Glove system
A glove system including a glove and a wrist attachment. The glove has a base portion, which includes a first fastener. The wrist attachment includes one or more straps for enabling wearing of the wrist attachment on a human wrist, a functional feature, and a second fastener adapted to couple with the first fastener and for selectively attaching the first wrist attachment to the glove.
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Numerous types of gloves have already been proposed, differing in particular in shape and/or in the material from which they are made. Nevertheless, no presently available glove fully satisfies the various needs of a user. In particular, known gloves are not adaptable based on the user's needs in different situations.
SUMMARYThis summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a glove system including a glove and a wrist attachment. The glove has a base portion, which includes a first fastener. The wrist attachment includes one or more straps for enabling wearing of the wrist attachment on a human wrist, a functional feature, and a second fastener adapted to couple with the first fastener and for selectively attaching the first wrist attachment to the glove.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Furthermore, in the detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known components have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.
Generally speaking, embodiments provide a glove system wherein one or more wrist attachments having associated features adapted for different applications may be provided for attachment to a glove. The wrist attachments may include a magnetic region for securing tools, fasteners or other metallic objects, a swiveling flashlight, a laser measurer, a digital voice recorder, a digital audio player, a laser level, a snake-light, a heart rate monitor, a pedometer, a compass, a stopwatch or a global positioning system (GPS) unit, but is not limited as such. As further described hereinbelow with reference to the figures, the gloves and wrist attachments according to various embodiments may also include a number of additional features designed to make them more comfortable, more durable and/or more tactile.
The wrist attachment 200 includes one or more wrist straps 210, for enabling wearing of the wrist attachment 200 interchangeably on either the left or right wrist. The wrist attachment also includes a functional portion 220 for providing various functional features, as described hereunder.
The glove 100 and wrist attachment 200 may be attached to each other, as shown in
The flashlight includes a spotlight 410, which may utilize an incandescent bulb or a light emitting diode (LED) as its light source. In one embodiment, the flashlight 400 may swivel about a pivot point 440 to permit positioning at various angles. The flashlight may also include an indicator light 420, which, in one embodiment, may be configurable to blink periodically. This is particularly advantageous for bicyclists or motorcyclists, as it makes the rider more visible and allows for easier location of the rider in the event of an accident in which the rider is ejected.
The flashlight 400 may include one or more operational buttons 430 for controlling the operation of the flashlight 400, including operation of the spotlight 410 and the indicator light 420. In the illustrated embodiment, the flashlight 400 is controlled by a single operational button 430. In such a single-button embodiment, the button 430 may be used to toggle the flashlight 400 through various functional states based on the number of times the button 430 is pressed. By way of example only, and not limitation, when the flashlight is in an off state, a first press of the button 430 may activate the spotlight 410. A second press of the button 430 may then activate the indicator light 420 and deactivate the spotlight 410. A third press of the button 430 may then activate both the spotlight 410 and the indicator light 420. Finally, a fourth press of the button 430 may return the flashlight 400 to the off state.
In either of the wrist attachment 200 embodiments depicted in
Like the wrist attachment 200, anti-fatigue gel 610 can also be added to the glove 100 to enhance the comfort for the wearer and alleviate stress and fatigue caused by constant trauma and impact when holding/gripping hand-held tools and power tools, a car steering wheel, motorcycle handlebars, etc. The anti-fatigue gel 610 may be added to the glove 100, for example, by stitching it into the fabric of the glove 100. The anti-fatigue gel 610 may be added to various locations 610a-d on the palmar side of the glove 100, as shown in
A grip-enhancing material 620 may also be added to various locations on the palmar surface of the glove 100, in addition to or instead of the anti-fatigue gel 610. In one embodiment, the grip-enhancing material 620 may be a silicone-based material, such as a silicone-based rubber, a silicone-based resin or a silicone-based polymer. The gripper material 620 may be added to various locations 620a-d on the palmar side of the glove 100, as shown in
Thus, embodiments provide a glove system having one or more interchangeable wrist attachments with associated features, such as a magnet or a flashlight. By providing interchangeable wrist attachments, a glove can thereby be adapted to multiple different applications without the need for a multiple pairs of gloves. Further, a user could use two different attachments at once (e.g. a magnetic wrist attachment on one hand and a flashlight wrist attachment on the other). The glove itself may be further enhanced by adding certain specialized materials to the glove. In particular, anti-fatigue gel can be added to the glove to relieve the stress of pressure and impact, anti-abrasion material can be added to the glove to make the glove more durable and to protect the wearer, and grip-enhancing material can be added to the glove to make the glove more tactile.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A glove system, comprising:
- a glove having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the interior surface of the glove having a palm-facing surface for facing a palm of a wearer's hand and a dorsal-facing surface for facing a dorsal side of the wearer's hand, the dorsal-facing surface having disposed thereon a first hook-and-loop fastener; and
- a wrist attachment comprising: an elongate main body having an interior surface, an exterior surface, a first end and a second end, the first and second ends each having associated therewith respective fasteners, wherein the elongate main body is adapted to wrap around a wrist of the wearer such that the first and second ends attach to each other via their respective fasteners; a swiveling flashlight disposed along the exterior surface of the elongate main body and having a spotlight, an indicator light that periodically blinks when operated, and a single operational button for controlling both the spotlight and the indicator light, wherein the spotlight and the indicator light operate simultaneously in at least one mode of operation of the swiveling flashlight; and an attachment member extending outwardly from the elongate main body and adapted to be inserted into the glove, the attachment member having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the exterior surface of the attachment member having disposed thereon a second hook-and-loop fastener, wherein the attachment member is adapted to be inserted into the glove while both the glove and the wrist attachment are being worn by a wearer and the second hook-and-loop fastener is adapted to mate with the first hook-and-loop fastener, thereby attaching the wrist attachment to the glove.
2. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein a first number of presses of the operational button activates the spotlight.
3. The glove system as recited in claim 2, wherein a second number of presses of the operational button activates the indicator light.
4. The glove system as recited in claim 3, wherein a third number of presses of the operational button activates the spotlight and the indicator light.
5. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the swiveling flashlight is waterproof.
6. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wrist attachment comprises a layer of anti-fatigue gel disposed between the interior and exterior surfaces of the elongate main body of the wrist attachment.
7. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the glove comprises anti-abrasion material disposed at a plurality of loci on a dorsal side of the glove.
8. The glove system as recited in claim 7, wherein the anti-abrasion material comprises polyurethane.
9. The glove system as recited in claim 7, wherein the anti-abrasion material comprises polyvinyl chloride.
10. The glove system as recited in claim 7, wherein the anti-abrasion material comprises silicone.
11. The glove system as recited in claim 7, wherein the anti-abrasion material comprises a para-aramid fiber.
12. The glove system as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of loci on the dorsal side of the glove consist of:
- generally over the wrist joint;
- generally over one or more of the metacarpals;
- generally over one or more of the metacarpophalangeal joints; and
- generally over one or more of the proximal phalanges.
13. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the glove comprises grip-enhancing material disposed at a plurality of loci on a palmar side of the glove.
14. The glove system as recited in claim 13, wherein the gip-enhancing material comprises a silicone-based material.
15. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the glove comprises anti-fatigue gel disposed at a plurality of loci on a palmar side of the glove.
16. The glove system as recited in claim 15, wherein the anti-fatigue gel comprises a viscoelastic polymer.
17. The glove system as recited in claim 15, wherein the anti-fatigue gel comprises polyurethane.
18. The glove system as recited in claim 15, wherein the anti-fatigue gel comprises polyvinyl chloride.
19. The glove system as recited in claim 15, wherein the anti-fatigue gel comprises silicone.
20. The glove system as recited in claim 15, wherein the glove comprises grip-enhancing material disposed over the anti-fatigue gel at each of the plurality of loci.
21. The glove system as recited in claim 20, wherein the plurality of loci on the palmar side of the glove consist of:
- generally over the thenar region of a human palm;
- generally over the hypo-thenar region of the human palm;
- generally over one or more of the metacarpophalangeal joints; and
- generally over the proximal phalanges.
22. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the glove comprises reflective material disposed at one or more loci on a dorsal side of the glove.
23. The glove system as recited in claim 1, wherein the glove comprises magnetic fingertips.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 10, 2009
Date of Patent: Aug 21, 2012
Patent Publication Number: 20110138517
Assignee:
Inventors: Shannon Ambrosio (Palisades Park, NJ), Ellen Glassman (Closter, NJ)
Primary Examiner: Bobby Muromoto, Jr.
Attorney: McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
Application Number: 12/634,835
International Classification: A41D 19/015 (20060101); A41D 13/08 (20060101); A41D 19/00 (20060101);